The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-01-10
NOT MUCH PROHIBITION.
Plenty of Liquor Sold In Maine Nowadays
40 Open Bars In Bangor.

Plenty of Liquor Sold In Maine Nowadays
40 Open Bars In Bangor.
Bangor Letter in New York Sun.
The next session of the Maine Legislature will
begin in few days now and the cold water peo-
pie are. as usual, specializing as to whether any
further temperance laws will be enacted. 1t IS
not likely that they will be eratiied, for the pro-
hibitory idea is deader than ever, and nobody
seems anxious to resurrect the corpse.
While the majority of the people
of the State are, of course, in favor
of temperance, they also have too much good
sense to advocate the spending of the public
money in a useless attempt to enforce an obnox
ious statute. From all reports and the state
ments of General Dow and his friends it would
appear that there are some people who believe
that Maine is considerable of prohibition
State, after ALL but the statistics of the Internal
Revenue Office tell quite different story From
no fewer than 1,150 retail liquor
dealers who pay United States gov
eminent tax of $25 each, and there
are undoubtedly great many who pay no tax
at all, notably the keepers Of the dives and club
rooms which flourish along the Kennebec, in
Lewiston and in Portland. whore the advocates
of prohibition are most active. and where they
pretend to hold the fort There are also six
Wholesale liquor dealers who pay government
tax of 500 each, 101 malt dealers who pas 500
each, nine wholesale malt dealers $50 each and
three brewers. All these concerns, assisted by
the druggists, manage to provide quite literally
for the thirsty down casters.
No attempt whatever is made to enforce the
law in Bangor, nor do the people of any sect or
party appear to want it enforced. Public opin-
ion is in fact, decidedly opposed to any disturb
ance of the present state of affairs which is quite
satisfactory Occasionally q complaint is made
and saloon keeper fined for selling to q minor.
but that is all. To-day-so man long in the
business states-there are in Bangor 140 open
bars, not counting hotels and various other city
and suburban resorts. The police require the
saloon-keepers to preserve order in their estab-
lishments and close at 10 o'clock P. NJ, and these
regulations are very generally complied with, al
though between the hotels and other places one can
generally be accommodated with liquid refresh
ments at any time up to midnight And yet,
with all this freedom of the liquor trsfic the DO
lice court records show that there are not nearly
as many arrests for drunkenness in Bangor, in
proportion to population as there in Port
land, the home or General Dow and the favorite
hunting ground of the Prohibitionists Let it
not be supposed from this that drunkenness is
winked at in Bangor for it is not. The police
force is efficient and the streets are always Or
derby. except when the woodsmen come down in
the spring and start on spree to break the
thirst which they acquire by long period of en-
forced sobriety.
The present condition of things is in marked
contrast to that of eight or ten years ago. in the
days of Sheriff Jerrard, rampant Prohibition
ist, when strenuous exertions were made to en-
force the law, with the poorest kind of success.
That period was perfect Bedlam in Bangor
being characterized by street fights between the
saloon keepers and their numerous retainers and
the sheriff and his deputies, the police often
taking hand in; by innumerable prosecutions
in court; Imprisonment for long periods of liquor
dealers and marvellous displays of strategy and
cunning to evade the officers The
hrst difficulty of the liquor-dealers
to get their supplies coming
from Boston, from the cars, steamers, or vessels
bringing them to their stores in safety, and then
came the problem of how to effectually conceal
the goods from the prylng eyes of the officers
who searched anywhere and everywhere for
them, from hole in the ground to bedcham-
Der. To accomplish all this all sorts of devices
were resorted to, with success in about nine
cases out of ten. The liquor would be taken
from trains at small stations just outside the
barns until such time needed.
when it was carted into town at
dead of night Corfederates on the
steamboats, used to dump the barrels overheard
down the harbor, where boats lay in wait to pick
them up, and captains of sailing packets, for a
consideration, would anchor below and SEND up
the long boat full of whisky and rum to the con-
signee. 1t would take big book to tell all of
the methods of concealment employed after the
stuff was once received 1t was buried half way
TO China hidden between false partitions and
drawn thence through small pipe running
within water pipe, concealed in dusty attics,
and brought thence in kerosene cans, and.
when the officers became too hot on
all, but bottles given to little army of run
ners' who stood about the door and sold drinks
from their pockets. One neat scheme was to
have little trap cut in the floor behind the bar,
on which was placed pitcher of liquor. In the
cellar beneath, and reaching to the ceiling, was
cistern full of water. Patrons were served reg
ularly over the bar and the instant the approach
If officer was signaled by the shrill whistle of
heller stationed outside, the bartender touched
spring with his foot and pitcher, liquor and all
went into the cistern. The sheriff was often
fooled at one door with barrel of water while a
barrel of whisky for shipment into the country
was being rolled out of another door. The hotel
bars were kept in rooms, the location of which,
constantly changing, was made known to desir
able customers at the Office. There were NO
mixed drinks then and no ale on draught-noth-
ing but hard liquors and bottled lager beer. All
of the stuff was of poor quality and those who
were not caught very often made money fast.
But that is all chan zed now it was a dsgraceful
campaign for Bangor costly one for Penob
scot county, and nobody wants to see it enacted
again.
Hear This, Messrs Coy & Co.